Battle Armor
Battle ArmorDragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, 2003 (called Saiyan (Battle) Armor by the Earthlings before the Namek Saga) is a standard-issue combat attire currently mandatory throughout the planet trade organization. Overview 's story about the Saiyans]] Battle Armors are made of an unknown material, which is said to be stretchy, yet durable (Vegeta once remarked "one size fits all"; though in Dragon Ball Z Kai, he mentioned that there are other sizes, as he complained that Frieza only had the older model in his size). Even Vegeta as a Great Ape was able to wear his armor without having any size issues. They are known to shatter when dealt enough damage, showing that they are indeed hard and solid. Vegeta says in Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! that Battle Armor is the Saiyans' formal attire. Description The most commonly seen ones have dual shoulder guards and some form of skirt armor or crotch guard. Matching boots (often white in color, but others do exist) are standard issue, as is a pair of white gloves or fingerless wrist guards. Standard armor has large shoulder plates, but some simply have reinforced shoulder straps. Many also have skirt armor or plate shielding the groin. Most Saiyans wrap their tails around the armor's waist, appearing as if they have a furry belt. Some armors feature capes, either pinned to the shoulder guards such as that King Vegeta and King Cold, or extending from the back of the lower half of the armor such as Zarbon has. Battle Armor for females does exist too, as seen in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku where Fasha and some women in a bar are wearing it. It does not include the crotch guards or the shoulder plates, and looks like Vegeta's jumpsuit, but having one strap, same body armor, knee pads with a covering on one leg, and white gloves and boots. It is said by one of Frieza's henchmen doctors that his Battle Armor saved Vegeta from being crushed to death when he was fallen on by Great Ape Gohan. Colored armor We see Vegeta wear this when he is traveling to Earth in the Saiyan Saga. When he actually arrives on Earth, the armor is much more like the armor Nappa is wearing in the next image. The only thing that sets it apart from regular Battle Armor is its coloring. It should be noted, though, that this only occurs in the anime as, at the time the scene was animated, no official colored scenes of Vegeta or Nappa had been introduced in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga, so Toei Animation had to make up their own color schemes. In Dragon Ball Kai, Vegeta's colored armor is changed to the normal armor. Bulma's armor model This is a variation on the above armor that Bulma makes for Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and Future Trunks. She actually made suits for all of the Z Fighters; however, Krillin was in a rush to find Android 18 when offered and had no time to put it on. Piccolo refused to wear one because he was a Namekian, "not a Saiyan" and did not want to dress like one. Tien Shinhan refused as well, stating that he would never wear the same outfit as Vegeta. Bulma apparently failed to offer the armor to Yamcha and Chiaotzu. They all wear a blue jumpsuit under the armor that covers the whole back from the neck down. The armor is again white with a yellow section, but only covers the chest. The shoulder guards are now nothing but two little straps made of the same yellow material. White gloves and yellow tipped boots are also worn with the outfit. We mostly see this armor worn in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and considering the time this outfit was worn for and how much training was done in them, they held up well. After the Cell Games, Vegeta keeps his blue jumpsuit (without sleeves), white gloves, and boots as his standard battle outfit but loses the chest piece due to the World Martial Arts Tournament's restrictions on armor. It is in the Cell Games Saga where the defensive properties of the Battle Armor are best displayed. Prior to this saga, Battle Armor is often seen destroyed, seemingly easily, by the simplest blasts (even a Special Beam Cannon with power level less than 1,500 was enough to damage Raditz's armor), casting doubts as to whether the armor was genuinely effective at protecting its wearer. However, in the Cell Games Saga, by Vegeta's own admission, in the episode "The Fight is Over", he was weaker than Goku. Despite this, Goku was beaten to a pulp by the Cell Juniors, and was unable to even defend himself, whereas Vegeta and Trunks (the only two wearing Saiyan Armor) were the only ones able to stay on their feet (Goku was having a hard time due to being exhausted from his previous battle with Cell though), despite the thrashing that they took from the Cell Juniors. This side-by-side comparison effectively demonstrates that, although the armor is often seen being destroyed in battle, when it remains intact, it still provides a good deal of protection. Armor in a similar style is also worn by members of Bardock's Elite, long before Bulma unintentionally recreates the look of their armors. Note that, since Bardock and his crew were low-class warriors, they might have modified their armor in the field to suit their needs. Other models During the Captain Ginyu Saga, Vegeta adopts new armor to replace his previous one due to it being thoroughly damaged. The new armor features no shoulder guards and instead has straps that simply extend the white part of the armor. Depending on the dub, Vegeta states that the only armor available on Frieza's ship that will fit him is this older model. In comparison to other Saiyans, Paragus wears a unique armor during his appearance in Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan. Its overall design resembled the clothing of those on Yardrat. Cooler's Armored Squadron sport armor that combines traits of both the older armor model worn by Vegeta during the Captain Ginyu Saga and the new, standard armor model. Notable differences with this "hybrid" armor include a lime green coloration instead of white or black and the Squadron's insignia (which interestingly resembles Cooler's head in his final form) fully covering the abdominal portion of the armor, and a single shoulder plate over the left shoulder. The cyborg member of Turles Crusher Corps., Cacao, has a Battle Armor that is the only armor with weapons. Video Games ]] Battle Armor appears in virtually every ''Dragon Ball video game that takes place during or after Dragon Ball Z, as one of the series' main characters, Vegeta, usually wears it. Battle Armor can be used as an item that increases the user's defense in Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu. In the ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' series, a Battle Armor appears as a symbol on the screen to indicate that a character has got a defense increase after using a Blast 1 technique. In Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, the three customiziable hero characters (Standard, Light, and Heavy) can obtain two different styles of Battle Armor to wear. They are referred to as "Saiyan Armor Suit 1" (which resembles Nappa's armor) and "Saiyan Armor Suit 2" (which resembles the model wore by Vegeta when he first came to Earth). Like all other costumes worn the hero character in the game, the player can set the armor's color as well. If logo mark is choose it will appear on the chest of their armor. When either armor suit is worn by the hero, their saiyan tail will be wrapped around their waist (as most Saiyan's wearing battle armor typically do), instead of hanging loose as with other costumes. The two Saiyan Armor Suits can be obtained in Hero Mode after the second fight against Omega Shenron (the one that takes place in the Cell Games Arena) and before the Ultimate Shenron giant boss fight. They can be located on the space pod near West City (it will show up as a star-shaped blip on the Dragon Radar). Trivia *In the English dub of "Captain Ginyu... The Frog", Vegeta says that his armor is a newer model than the armor Krillin and Gohan have, but in the original Japanese version and in Dragon Ball Z Kai, Vegeta says that his armor is an older model and that he wears it because it was the only kind that could fit his base size. The statement Vegeta says in the English dub is most likely a mistake, since all of Frieza's men, himself before it was broken, and even Frieza himself wear the same model of armor as Krillin and Gohan have; it would not make any sense for them to all wear older model armor. *In the manga, Battle Armor is referred to as Battle Jackets, while in Dragon Ball, Battle Jackets are the armor worn by the Red Ribbon Army. Gallery References Category:Objects Category:Clothing